Drain cleaner



United States Patent 3,503,890 DRAIN CLEANER Marian C. Davisson,Clinton, Ind., and Robert L. Kraudel, Decatur, Ill., assignors to A. E.Staley Manufacturing Company, Decatur, 11]., a corporation of DelawareNo Drawing. Filed July 29, 1966, Ser. No. 568,757 Int. Cl. C11d 1/18,1/38, 1/50, 3/26, 7/32 US. Cl. 252-152 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A method for alleviating sluggish or clogged drain conditionsarising from the accumulation of household wastes in the drain lines byadding to the drain line effective quantities of a non-metal corrosivecationic quaternary ammonium salt surface-active agent.

This invention is directed to a method for controlling and reducing theaccumulation of waste materials in sink traps and drain lines. Morespecifically, this invention is directed to a method for alleviatingsluggish or clogged drain conditions arising from the accumulation ofhousehold wastes in drain lines.

Sluggish or blocked household drains are generally caused by theaccumulation of water-insoluble household wastes in sink traps or by theaccumulation of wastes along the inner walls or at the point of junctionof drain pipe sections. For example, the uncontrolled build up in drainlines of fats, oils, and greases produced during the preparation offoods as well as accumulated deposits of inorganic and organic saltsresulting from the use of detergents and soaps in the presence ofionized or hard water can be responsible for sluggish drainage.

If the above wastes are permitted to accumulate in drain linesundisturbed, the drain becomes sluggish, i.e. partly blocked so that thedrain does not empty freely, and eventually will become completelyblocked. When this occurs, the drain generally backs up and depositspartially decomposed, germ-infested waste materials outside the drainlines.

A blocked or sluggish drain may, in most instances, be remedied by theperiodic use of a drain cleaner which will attack and remove accumulatedwastes in the drain lines. Most of the consumer products currentlyavailable for cleaning a drain and for alleviating sluggish drainconditions consist primarily of a strong acid or a strong alkali.Caustics and acids have been widely used in drain cleaners mainlybecause they are relatively economical and have represented for manyyears the only alternative to the expense of calling a professionalplumber.

Basically, alkaline and acid type drain cleaners operate on aheat-generating principle. That is, they are capable of liberating heatwhen mixed with water or when contacted with the drain obstruction. Thisrapid liberation of heat melts away the drain obstruction. One seriousdisadvantage associated with the use of drain cleaners relying on heatto melt away drain obstructions is that in many instances the meltedmaterial is merely redistributed in the drain lines and upon coolingwill resolidify elsewhere in the drain line. This creates the illusionof solving the problem; however, on rehardening, these greases and fatsmay form a caustic hard soap which may be more difficult to remove thanwere the original deposits.

Another disadvantage associated with the use of alkalies and acids indrain cleaner compositions is that these materials can be both corrosiveand toxic and, thus, great care must be exercised to protect againsttheir misuse.

Compositions containing enzymes are also available for use as a draincleaner. Although these compositions are "ice non-toxic andnon-corrosive, they have other disadvantages. One disadvantage is thatthe effectiveness of an enzyme drain cleaner depends to a larger degreeon the existing climate, or environment, in the drain lines. Forexample, temperature, pH and oxygen concentration are all environmentalfactors on which the effectiveness of an enzyme drain cleaner depends.

Another disadvantage is that such enzymes cannot be conveniently storedfor any extended periods of time as a solution without the. enzymelosing its activity.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide a draincleaner which is non-toxic, non-corrosive, may be stored as a liquid,and which is effective over a broad range of environmental conditions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method for maintainingfree-flowing drains by controlling, as well as removing, wasteaccumulation in drain lines.

Other objects of this invention will 'be apparent from the disclosurewhich follows.

Broadly, this invention provides a method for overcoming sluggish (slowdraining) and clogged drains by periodically contacting the wasteaccumulated in the drain line with effective waste-reducing andWaste-removing amounts of a cationic quaternary ammonium salt compoundhaving'at least one hydrophilic based functiOnal group such as N and atleast one hydrophobic long chain alkyl group containing at least 10carbon atoms attached either directly to the functional group or throughsome intermediate linkage such as an alkyl amide radical. Generally thecationic material will have a molecular weight of between 200 and 2,000.

One particular class of quaternary ammonium salt com pounds, such as thequaternary surface active agents, which can be used may be representedby the general formula wherein R is a higher alkyl having more than 10carbon atoms and preferably having between about 12 and 22 carbon atoms;R, is the same as R or is a lower alkyl radical having from 1 to 4carbon atoms; and R and R are independently selected from the groupconsisting of lower alkyl radicals having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, benzylradicals hydroxyalkyl radicals, hydroxyalkoxyalkyl radicals whichinclude, for example, the hydroxy polyethers formed by the condensationof ethylene oxide or propylene oxide, acyl aliphatic radicals, amidoaliphatic radicals, acylated polyazaalkyl radicals, imido aliphaticradicals, aryl radicals, and imido aliphatic radicals wherein thenitrogen of the functional group is part of a heterocycle; and X is ananion.

Although the choice of anion is not particularly critical to thisinvention, the chloride and methyl (metho) sulfate anions (obtainedduring methylation) are the anions most generally employed. Othersuitable anions include the nitrite, halide, .sulfate, alkyl sulfate,oleate, palmitate, stearate, benzoate, organic and inorganic phosphates,and the like. 7

The higher alkyl radicals above referred to in the general formula arecarbon chains which may be straight or branched and saturated orunsaturated. Preferably, the carbon chains are obtained from long chainfatty acids such as those derived from tallow, soybean oil, or coconutoil. Mixtures of the above as well as other quaternary ammonium surfaceactiveagents may also be used if desired. Preferably, both R and R arealkyl groups containing 12 to 18 carbon atoms and R and R are methylgroups. However, excellent results have also been obtained when R isalso a methyl group or when R is a benzyl group.

Examples of suitable quaternary ammonium surface active agents whichfall within the class of compounds above described include lauryltrimethyl ammonium methosulfate, palmityl trimethyl ammonium acetate,stearyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium nitrite, myristyl dimethyl benzylammonium chloride, stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, distearyldimethyl ammonium methosulfate, palmityl trimethyl ammonium chloride.Quaternary ammonium salts generally referred to as hydrogenated tallowalkyl trimethyl ammonium chlorides have been found to be particularlyefiective for alleviating sluggish drain conditions.

Other classes of quaternary ammonium surface active agents which can beused are ethoxylated quaternary ammonium salts selected from the groupconsisting of compounds having the formulas I [Ry-III- (CHzCHzO) 11H] X-(CHzCH20)nH (011201120 )nn R4 wherein R and R are the same as R and R ofthe general formula, R is a benzyl radical, methyl radical, or a (OH CHO) H radical, n is a number from 1 to 20, m

is a number from 2 to 3, and X is an anion.

Examples of various types of ethoxylated quaternary ammonium surfaceactive agents which fall within the above class or compounds includedilauryl methyl polyoxyethylene ammonium chloride; stearyl methyldipolyoxyethylene ammonium chloride; dimyristyl methyl polyoxyethyleneammonium methyl sulfate; distearyl benzyl polyoxyethylene ammoniumchloride; distearyl methyl polyoxyethylene ammonium chloride; N-capryl,N,N'-dimethyl polyoxyethylene propylene diammonium chloride; dicaprylmethyl polyoxyethylene ammonium chloride, dilauryl benzylpolyoxyethylene ammonium chloride; N- lauryl, N,N'-diethylpolyoxyethylene ethylene diammonium ethyl sulfate; N-stearyl,N,N'-dibenzyl polyoxyethylene propylene diammonium chloride; disoyabenzyl polyoxyethylene ammonium chloride; dicoco ethyl polyoxyethyleneammonium chloride; N-soya, N,N'-dimethyl polyoxyethylene propylenediammonium methyl sulfate; N- tallow, N,N'-dibenzyl polyoxyethylenepropylene diammonium chloride, N-coco, N,N-dimethyl polyoxyethyleneethylene diammonium chloride. The terms disoya, dicoco, and N-tallow,etc. as used above refer to the source from which the long chain fattyalkyl chains are derived, and the products contain a variety oflong-chain groups varying in length, unsaturation, branching, etc.

Still another class of useful compounds include quaternary compoundshaving the formula H2C-CH2 CH3 1 N an C (CH2)mN I. H

wherein R, m, and X are as defined above.

An example of the above type of quaternary ammonium compound is1-methyl-1-alkylamidoethyl-2-alkylimidazolinium methosulfate.

Other specific surface active agents which may be used in this inventionand which fall within the classes of compounds above described may befound in the Annual Report Detergents and Emulsifiers through John W.Mc- Cutcheon, Inc.

For convenience a 5% by weight aqueous solution of a quaternary ammoniumsalt is generally used; however, a 1% to 10% solution or even a moreconcentrated or more dilute solution may be used if desired. Forexample, for most household drains the addition of 1 cup or 8 ounces ofa 5% solution of a quaternary ammonium salt to a drain will besufiicient to remedy most sluggish or slow moving drains. However, wherethe blockage is due to abnormally larger quantities of waste material, alonger working period or repeated treatments may be required to remedysluggish conditions. 1

Calculated on a weight ratio basis, the amount of quaternary ammoniumsalt required may be varied from about 0.01 to 5 parts of quaternaryammonium salt per part of waste material. However, the use of an amountbetween 0.1 to 1.0 part of quaternary ammonium salt per part of wastematerial is preferred.

The solvent for the quaternary ammonium salt compound is generallywater; however, various organic solvents such as alcohols, ethers,benzene and the like, either alone or in combination, one with the otheror organic solvents in combination with water, may be used. Organicsolvents which are water soluble such as the mono and polyhydricalcohols are preferred. Examples of suitable mono and polyhydricalcohols include ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, methanol, glyceroland the like. Other materials such as perfumes, coloring agents,stabilizers etc. may also be added to the quaternary ammonium saltsolution if desired.

In the examples to follow several variations of the preferredembodiments of this invention are shown. These, however, are not to beinterpreted as specific limitations of the invention.

' EXAMPLE 1 I A liquid drain cleaner was prepared by adding to 1,000 ml.of distilled water:

(a) 1,100 ml. of a 50% isopropyl alcohol solution of Aliquat 26 (tallowalkyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) (b) 5.5 gms. of pine oil (0) 5.5 gms.of isooctyl phenyl polyethoxy ethanol (pine oil solubilizer) (d) 50drops of McCormicks blue vegetable dye (e) 25 drops of McCormicks redvegetable dye The above solution was then diluted with distilled waterto a volume of 11,100 ml.

One cup or approximately 8 ounces of the above prepared composition waspoured into a slow draining kitchen sink drain capable of removingwater, before treatment, at a rate of about 6 gallons per minute. Thecomposition was allowed to work in the drain for about 3 hours beforeflushing with tap water.

After flushing, the draining rate of the sink drain was determined to beabout 8 gallons per minute. The improvement in the drainage rate was33.3%.

EXAMPLE 2 One cup or approximately 8 ounces of the drain cleanercomposition of Example 1 was introduced into a bathroom sink draincapable of removing water, before treatment, at a rate of about 5.5gallons per minute. The composition was allowed to wor in the drain forabout 6 hours before flushing with tap water.

After flushing, the draining rate of the treated drain was determined tobe about 7.5 gallons per minute. This was an improvement in the drainingrate of 36.4%.

EXAMPLE 3 One cup or approximately 8 ounces of the drain cleanerprepared in Example 1 was introduced into a bathtub drain exhibitingpoor draining characteristics. The rate of water removal prior totreatment was determined to be about 3.5 gallons per minute. Thecomposition was allowed to work in the drain overnight (approximately 8or 9' hours) before flushing the drain with tap water. After flushing,the draining rate of the treated bathtub was determined to be about 6.3gallons per minute.

The following day the above procedure was repeated again on the samedrain. After flushing with tap water, the draining rate of the bathtubdrain was determined to be about 7.0 gallons per minute. The improvementin drainage after the first treatment was 80% and after the secondtreatment it was 100%.

EXAMPLE 4 A liquid drain cleaner was prepared by adding to 1,000 mi. ofdistilled water:

(a) 1,100 ml. of a 50% solution of Ethoquad 1825 (polyethoxylatedquaternary ammonium chloride) represented by the formula wherein Z is an18 carbon alkyl group derived from stearic acid and wherein each n is anumber from 2 to 13 the sum of which is (b) 5 gms. of pine oil (c) 5gms. of isoactyl phenyl polyethoxy ethanol (pine oil solubilizer) (d) 50drops of McCormicks blue vegetable dye (e) 25 drops of McCormicks redvegetable dye The above solution was then diluted with distilled waterto a volume of 11,100 ml.

One cup or approximately 8 ounces of the above prepared composition waspoured down a slow draining kitchen sink drain. The composition wasallowed to work for about 8 hours prior to flushing with tap water.After flushing, the draining rate of the kitchen drain was determined tobe improved by about 38%. When the above composition was used onbathroom sink drains and bathtub drains, an improvement in the drainsrate of water removal was increased by a factor as high as 85%.

EXAMPLE 5 When Example 4 was repeated with a drain cleaning compositioncontaining Variquat 450 (dodecyl benzyl trimethyl ammonium chloride)instead of Ethoquad 18-25, improved draining was similarly detected.

EXAMPLE 6 For this example, a simulated drain plug was prepared byheating a mixture of 71.5% lard, 15% Crisco hydrogenated vegetable oil,13% hydrogenated cottonseed oil and 0.5% human hair to the melttemperature. After the mixture was melted and thoroughly blended,approximately 2.5 grams of the melt mixture was placed along the bottomof a glass U-tube (to simulate a household drain trap) having aninternal diameter of 15 mm. The mixture was sufiicient to coat thebottom portion of the U-tube without completely blocking the U-tube. Therate at which water flowed through the tube containing the plug wasdetermined to be 13 ml. per second. Twenty ml. of distilled water wasadded to the tube containing the plug to simulate a partially blockedhousehold drain trap having a volume of water trapped therein.

Twenty ml. of a 5% aqueous solution of Arquad 18- 50 (tallow alkyltrimethyl ammonium chloride) was added to the tube containing the plugand water. The tube was then placed in a rack to permit undisturbedworking of the composition on the plug. After a period of 16 hours, thetube was flushed with tap water and then dried for a period of 6 hoursat a temperature of 120 F. The rate at which water flowed through thetube, following treatment with the composition, was determined to be 32ml. per second. The improvement in the rate of flow was calculated to be126%.

6 EXAMPLE 7 Example 6 was repeated with the exception that 20 ml. of a10% aqueous solution rather than a 5% aqueous solution of Arquad 18-50was used. The percent improvement in this instance was calculated to be130%.

EXAMPLE 8 Example 6 was again repeated with the exception that a 0.5rather than a 5.0% solution of Arquad 18-50 was used. The percentimprovement in the rate of flow through the tube in this instance wascalculated to be 12%.

EXAMPLE 9 Example 6 was again repeated with the exception that 20 ml. ofdistilled water was substituted for the aqueous solution of Arquad 18-50. The percent improvement in the rate of the flow of the drain inthis instance after 48 hours was less than 2%. This comparative exampleshows that water alone has little effect in remedying the slow drainingconditions.

EXAMPLES 10-14 In these examples approximately 3 gms. of the simulateddrain plug prepared in Example 6 was deposited in each of nine U-tubes.Theamount added was suflicient to reduce the flow through the tube byabout Each of the'plugs in the tubes was covered with 15 ml. ofdistilled water followed by 15 ml. of a 5% aqueous solution or a 5%water-alcohol solution of different types of cationic qua'rternaryammonium salt compounds. After a working period of about 16 hours, thepercent improvement in the rate of flow was determined for each of thetubes and reported in Table I.

prepared by heating hamburger grease to its melt temperature and placingapproximately 3.5 grams of the melt along the bottom of a weighed 150 x15 mm. glass U-tube. After the melt had been hardened by cooling, thetube and simulated plug were weighed. It was found that the tube andsimulated plug weighed 30.50 gms. Fifteen ml. of distilled water wasthen added to the tube followed by 15 ml. of a 5% solution of Arquad18-50. The tube was set aside for 16 hours to permit working of thecomposition on the simulated plug. After this period the tube was rinsedvery carefully with tap water and dried at 100 F. for six hours. TheU-tube was then reweighed and was found to weigh 27.05 gms. The removalof the plug by action 0 the cationic solution was essentially complete.

EXAMPLE 16 When Example 15 was repeated with a simulated kitchen plugcontaining 50% hamburger grease, 25% ham drippings and 25% sausagegrease, the percent of plug removed ranged from 85% to EXAMPLE 17Example 15 was repeated several times with a simulated plug containing31% soap, 31% lard, 31% Crisco, 5% CaCo and 2% hair. Following treatmentwith a 5% 7 solution of Arquad 18-50, it was found that 40% to 50% ofthe plug was removed in each instance.

We claim:

1. A method for alleviating sluggish or clogged drain conditions arisingfrom the accumulation of wastes in a drain line which comprisescontacting the accumulated waste with an aqueous composition consistingessentially of at least 1 by weight of a cationic quaternary ammoniumsalt compound having at least one hydrophilic based functional group andat least one hydrophobic long chain alkyl group, said salt compoundhaving a structure selected from the group consisting of and Ego-H2 CH30 wherein each R is selected from the group consisting of alkyl groupshaving from to 22 carbon atoms and benzyl groups substituted with analkyl group of from 10 to 22 carbon atoms; R is selected from the groupconsisting of alkyl groups of from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and alkyl groupshaving from 10 to 22 carbon atoms; R and R independently are selectedfrom the group consisting of alkyl groups having from 1 to 4 carbonatoms and benzyl; R is selected from the group consisting of benzyl,alkyl group of from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and -(CH OH O) H; n is a numberfrom 1 to m is a number from 2 to 3; and X is an anion, and wherein thequaternary ammonium salt has a molecular weight of between 200 and2,000.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the quarternary ammonium salt compoundis hydrogenated tallow alkyl trimethyl ammonium chloride.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the hydrogenated tallow alkyltrimethyl ammonium chloride is introduced as a solution.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the hydrogenated tallow alkyltrimethyl ammonium chloride is present in the t a 8 solution in anamount of between about 1% and 10% by weight of the solution.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cationic quater nary ammonium saltis present in the drain in a weight ratio of between 0.01 to 5 parts ofquaternary ammonium salt per part accumulated waste.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the quaternary ammonium salt compoundis l-methyl-l-alkylamidoethyl-Z-Z alkyl-imidazolinium methosulfate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the quaternary ammonium salt compoundhas the structure Z (CH: OHzO) H wherein Z is an 18 carbon alkyl groupderived from stearic acid and wherein each n is a number from 2 to 13,the sum of which is 15.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the quaternary ammonium salt compoundhas the general formula wherein R is a higher alkyl group having fromabout 12 to 22 carbon atoms; R is selected from the group consisting ofan alkyl group having from about 12 to 22 carbon atoms and lower alkylhaving from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and R and R independently, are selectedfrom the group consisting of lower alkyl groups having 1 to 4 carbonatoms and benzyl groups; and X is an anion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,692,231 10/1954 Stayner et al.210-23 2,839,467 6/1958 Hutchison et al 252-855 3,223,704 12/1965 Shibe,Jr. et al. 260-309.6 X 3,320,263 5/ 1967 Wakeman et al. 260-567 X3,349,033 10/ 1967 Zuccarelli 252-106 MAYER WEINBLATT, Primary ExaminerU.S. Cl. X.R.

Patent No.

Inventofls) Po-wso (5/69) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION Dated March 31, 1970 Kraudel It is certified that errorappears in the above-identified patent and that paid Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

Column 5, line 75, for "126%" read ---1467L.--- Column 6, line 31, for"quaternary" read ---quatemary--- The structure in column 7, betweenlines 20 and 25, for

((3H (IH 0) H /(CH CH O) H R n (cn l\( I m x- R CH CH 0) H read (91 080) H /(CH CH O) H R N (CH N l 2 m X- R R CI'I CH CD H dlGNF AND .QFMEDSEP 1- ism) m m m. Arm flomisaione'r of Patents Edward M. Fletcher, In

Attesting Officer

